Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders
Author: Carroll V. Glines
Publisher: Carroll V. Glines Canada
Edition: First
Cover: Hardcover
Published: 1964
Bomb
Synopsis: This compelling historical account chronicles one of the most daring and psychologically significant military operations of World War II - the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942. Author Carroll V. Glines meticulously documents how Lieutenant Colonel James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle conceived and executed the audacious plan to launch sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to strike the Japanese home islands, just four months after Pearl Harbor. The book provides intimate portraits of the eighty volunteer airmen who knew they were embarking on what many considered a suicide mission, with no realistic hope of landing safely after their bombing runs. Glines draws from extensive interviews with surviving raiders, military records, and personal diaries to reconstruct the intensive training at Eglin Field, Florida, where crews practiced the unprecedented feat of launching fully-loaded medium bombers from a carrier deck. The narrative captures the technical challenges of modifying the B-25s for extended range, the weather delays that nearly compromised the mission, and the heart-stopping moment when Japanese patrol boats forced an early launch 650 miles from Japan instead of the planned 400 miles. The book vividly describes each crew's individual experience over Japan, from Captain Ted Lawson's targeting of industrial facilities in Tokyo to other crews striking Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kobe. Glines doesn't shy away from the mission's tragic aftermath: the crash landings in China and the Soviet Union, the capture and execution of some raiders by the Japanese, and the heroic efforts of Chinese civilians who risked their lives to help the Americans escape. The author skillfully weaves together multiple narratives, showing how this single raid, while causing minimal physical damage, delivered an enormous psychological blow to Japanese morale and provided a crucial boost to American spirits during the war's darkest early months. The book also examines the long-term strategic implications, including Japan's decision to retain fighter aircraft for home defense and the eventual formation of the Doolittle Raiders Association. Through detailed research and compelling storytelling, Glines creates both a thrilling adventure story and a serious military history that honors the courage of these remarkable men who volunteered for almost certain death to prove that Japan was not invulnerable.
Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders, is one of the many primary source materials in the Army Air Corps Museum collection.
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